Tania Siglinde Ortiz Diaz

Committed to Contributing to the Personal Development of Young Natives

Profoundly humanistic, Tania Siglinde Ortiz Diaz, a master’s student in information sciences at the Université de Montréal, has taken advantage of her numerous cultural exchanges to embrace social commitment. With her contagious good humour, the young woman attaches utmost importance to the transmission of knowledge as a means of acquiring a broader culture that could contribute to the social development of different communities.

It was because of a university general strike in her native country of Mexico that Tania decided to move to Québec five years ago. Following a year of intensive French classes and participation in numerous activities, Tania succeeded in sufficiently mastering the French language to resume her university studies in music in January 2003 at the Université de Sherbrooke. She became actively involved at the university, helping to organize among other things a number of events such as the 9th and 10th editions of the Marathon musical.

“Music gives me the opportunity to reach out to people through a language of sound that is full of emotion. Because of its universal nature, I see art as a means of communication that is both subtle and powerful,” stated the soprano who, before moving to Canada, had been a member for ten years of Mexico City’s Schola Cantorum choir, which has taken part in numerous festivals around the world.

Tania then went on to pursue a certificate in English to French translation, a major challenge for someone whose mother tongue is Spanish. It was during this period that she established ties with the Cree community of Chisasibi in Baie-James. She became keenly aware of the realities of Native people and developed a strong passion for their culture, participating in various projects and spending two consecutive summers hosting workshops on world folklore for the community’s children of primary school age.

Her strong commitment to this community was such that she then went on to take part in a cultural exchange in Mali, as a translator and guide, accompanied by seven young Cree whom she introduced to African culture. “It was undoubtedly one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” she said.

In order to help young people become more open to cultural diversity, her unusual journey became the subject of a documentary entitled “Miroir d’en face” that was highly praised at the 2007 ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto. “Her humanism and great sensitivity were invaluable to the success of this exceptional adventure that led to a meeting between the Cree and Dogon peoples,” said Gérald Côté of the Université de Sherbrooke.

Following the expedition, Tania was invited to share her experience by giving a series of talks for Native communities and she also presented her project at the 10th International Symposium on Social Communication held in Santiago de Cuba.

Tania is president of her student association and has chosen to undertake her master’s degree research on the public library services available to young Natives so as to make a tangible contribution to their personal development. “What I would really like to be able to do is return the generosity I was shown during my visits to their community,” Tania concluded.

Tania Siglinde Ortiz Diaz